Helderberg Tough 10km Trail Run

Our trail grading: GREEN 5B

Distance: 10km

Extremeness: Going up, up and up

Location: Helderberg, Somerset West, South Africa

Joggers: Only me

My initial plan was to jog to West Peak today. However, as I paid for my entrance I found out that the reserve closes at 19:00 - reducing my time by an hour. I thought that I would just jog up anyway and see how it goes.

It was extremely hot as I ascended and after a tough climb of about 30min I reached the turn-off to Disa Gorge. A short jog took me to the unofficial Disa Gorge picnic spot after which I hit Porcupine Buttress… an awesome zigzag taking you up, up and up! As a reached a lookout point from where I could see the saddle between West Peak and the Dome, thick fog/clouds started to creep over West Peak. At this stage I already gained over 600m of altitude! I decided to postponed my West Peak mission given my limited time and the fact that I would have been forced to navigate down a new route in thick fog. Porcupine Buttress was a pleasure on the way down and I picked up the pace as I hit the jeep track coming out of Disa Gorge. I also took the Black Hiking Route as a scenic detour on my way down... just because I can!